Amazon wraps controversial week ahead of ‘Melania’ premier, earnings
Movie posters for the documentary “Melania” featuring US First Lady Melania Trump are displayed at the New York City subway station in New York, USA, on January 14, 2026.
Jeenah Ay | Reuters
It was a turbulent week for Amazon.
Amazon heads into its quarterly earnings report next week surrounded by a deafening amount of outside noise, from a clumsy email prematurely announcing a massive round of layoffs to a review of the company’s $75 million investment in a documentary about the First Lady.
On Saturday, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy and the company’s top entertainment executive joined a group of CEOs, politicians and celebrities at the White House. special screening Part of “Melania” produced by Amazon MGM Studios and Melania Trump.
The incident was widely criticized for appearing tone-deaf because it occurred just hours after federal immigration officers shot and killed urgent care nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis; This was the second fatal incident there in less than three weeks.
While many of the biggest names in tech have remained silent on the issue, many in the industry have expressed outrage over the events and called on other members of the tech community to publicly condemn Pretti’s murder and the earlier shooting of Renee Good, as well as President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.
Apple CEO Tim Cook, who attended the screening, later issued a statement calling for “de-escalation” after the recent violence but making no mention of the two deadly shootings. Amazon did not comment on the matter.
Amazon’s ties to the Melania movie, which officially opened Friday, were odd enough given rising political tensions in Minneapolis and elsewhere. The price tag has raised new questions about Amazon’s agenda and whether the company is trying to curry favor with the president.
“I’m not involved in this. This was done with my wife,” President Trump told reporters at the film’s premiere in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. “I think it’s a very important movie. I think it’s going to be really important. It shows life in the White House. It’s actually very important.”
“We licensed the movie for one reason only – because we think customers will love it,” an Amazon MGM spokesperson said in an email.
Early ticket sales for the documentary were poor, and the film is expected to bring in approximately $5 million in its opening weekend in the United States and Canada. Disc News Reported based on National Research Group forecast data.
difficult timing
Making the timing even worse for Amazon, which also agreed to release a three-part documentary series through Prime Video, the company launched a new round of mass layoffs on Wednesday. 16,000 company employees. The company laid off 14,000 employees last October.
The announcement was canceled a day early due to an email mistakenly sent to cloud employees implying “organizational changes” and a post from Amazon’s human resources boss Beth Galetti.
The layoffs are part of Jassy’s broader effort to cut costs and “cut through red tape” at the company, as it looks to invest heavily in artificial intelligence. Some employees have previously told CNBC that cost cuts and constant layoffs are hurting morale.
One reddit Forum for Amazon employees, some users questioned The rationale for the company’s investment in “Melania” as well as its money-saving efforts.
“With $75 million, we could give about $4,500 to every laid-off employee,” one user wrote. “But we spent the money on the ridiculous Melania movie instead. I’m ashamed to work at Amazon.”
Analysts at Citizens said this week they expect Amazon’s 30,000 job cuts to result in cost savings of up to $8 billion in 2026.
Host Desi Lydic on Thursday’s episode of “The Daily Show” in the name He criticized Amazon founder and former CEO Jeff Bezos, saying it was a “cash grab.”
“Why would billionaire Jeff Bezos, who has tons of government dealings, is known for his penchant for bribery, and is led by a corrupt president, pay a lot of money for a Melania documentary?” Lydic asked. he said. “Hmm, let me think about it.”
Filmmaker Julie Cohen, who has previously worked with Amazon on documentaries, said: New York Times It was stated that the Melania price tag was abnormal and the company suggested that she “bought something else for her money”.
Bezos, who was attacked many times by Trump in his first term, this time got closer to the President. He had dinner with Trump at his home in Mar-a-Lago and attended the inauguration a year ago. Meanwhile, Amazon donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund. helped pay for Trump’s $300 million ballroom renovation.
There’s even more drama in the broader Bezos universe this week, following multiple outlets reported The Washington Post, which Bezos has owned since 2013, is preparing for large-scale layoffs in its newsroom, with sports, domestic and international sections expected to be affected.
The newspaper’s White House team wrote a letter to Bezos, explaining the importance of the work of these teams and telling their bosses that they should “collaborate with every corner of the newsroom.”
Gain setup
By the middle of next week, interest in Amazon will come from a more familiar place: Wall Street.
On Thursday, the company is scheduled to report fourth-quarter results, wrapping up earnings season for tech giants (though Nvidia reports later in the month).
Amazon is expected to see revenue growth of about 13% to $211.3 billion, according to analysts surveyed by LSEG. The expansion is driven by Amazon Web Services and digital advertising, which are both projected to grow about 22%, according to FactSet data.
Analysts at KeyBanc Capital Markets raised their price targets on the stock this week and maintained their buy recommendations, due in part to momentum at AWS, fueled by a recent deal with OpenAI. CNBC confirmed this week that Amazon is currently in talks to invest up to $50 billion in OpenAI.
While Amazon tries to keep up with its competitors in the field of artificial intelligence, the company is also increasing its spending on data centers. According to LSEG in its earnings report, capital expenditures are expected to rise 24% from a year ago to almost $34.5 billion.
Rising costs will put pressure on profitability, but “we believe Amazon will continue to seek greater efficiencies across the organization to minimize potential margin impact,” KeyBanc analysts said.
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